Tobacco hogshead



May 2, 1951 K. N. MosELEY 2,982,435

TOBACCO HOGSHEAD F'led Dec. 7, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR K.N.MOSELEY ATTORNEY May 2, 1961 K. N. MosELEY TOBACCO HOGSI-IEAD 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 F'iled Dec. 7, 1956 INVENTOR K.N.MO5ELEY ATTORNEY t bands;

United States Patent() TOBACCO HOGSHEAD y Kemper N. Moseley, 1014 Gloria Ave., Durham, N.C.

` Filed Dec. 7, 1956, ser. No. 621,040

1 claim. (ci. 217-44) This invention relates to the handling and transportation of commodities such as tobacco, kor other product of a leafy or generally similar character, and to a tobacco hogshead in which the tobacco is placed and which hogshead is adapted to be opened to permit the inspection and sampling of the tobacco contained within the Same and subsequently replaced to recontain the tobacco.

The invention relates particularly to atobacco hogshead kin which the staves forming the wall portion between the two ends or heads is produced of two equal or generally similar parts or segments and such segments are fastened together to provide a complete side wall section of the hogshead.

Hogsheads used for containing tobacco have been made of staves produced from oak, pine or other lumber and have been fastened together by encircling hoops or bands of metal,v which hoops or bands due to their length have been made of two parts, and the adjoining over-lapping portions of the hoops or bands have been connected by conventional fasteners such as split sleeve type fasteners. Staves previously used have been relatively thick and excessively heavy andeasilybroken because of knots and improper direction of the grain. Hogsheads produced of such staves have required excessivel time in the opening of the hogshead to permit inspection and sampling and the closing of the hogshead after such sampling. Further the hoops or bands have been heavy and recooperinghas been a complicated operation resulting in hogsheads of excessive costs. i

It is an object of the invention to overcome the objectionable features in hogsheads previously produced and to provide a hogshead of simple and inexpensive construction, of lighter weight, of increased strength and in which cheaper lumber is used to provide a stronger and more durablek structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved hogshead of gum plywood of container grade in order` to provide adequatestrength of the stave and with heads of tongue and groove lumber or other material with battens by which the tongue andgroove sections are fastened together, as well as a hogshead in whichtwo-part bands are employed, which bands cany be readily sepatogether with the usual adhesive material.

joint by which the ends ofthetwo-parthoop or band are connected at one side of the hogshead;

Fig. 8, a perspective of the separable joint'at the jo formed of three plies of equal thickness, such plies being composed of tough materials, such as gumwood,'and theV overall thickness of the three plies of equal thickness totaling approximately 1A. VThe plywood employed is of the container or better grade in preference to the cheaper or veneer grade and the three plies or laminae are bonded thus produced of4 plywood is relatively strong, although of less thickness and weight. Y Each stave is provided on the same side adjacent each end with a liner which preferably is substantially square in cross-section to permit the head of the hogshead from popping out when subjected` to stress or pressure, as well as to` provide the necessary support for the end of the stave whenthe hogshead is stacked, turned on its end or side'inV such a manner that the Vend of thev stave receives the weight ofthe iilled hogshead or impact with an; other object or thing. The liners which are substantially square in cross-section have their ends tapered sutliciently so that when assembled withothers of like character may t TheV intimately engage each other and form a circle. contacting or abutting vends of the liners mutually' sup-A port each other and consequently add strength tothe hogshead. Y Y t 1 In the production of thehogsheadthe side wall section formed by the staves and4 encircling hoops orv bandsbis produced in two sections. In other words, beforeas sembly vthe hogshead comprises` a pair ofends andtwo sections of equal size which are combined to provide the` nished hogshead. In View of the fact that theoutside circumference ofthe Ahogshead formed by the staves and rated at one side of the hogsheads to afford opportunityl apparent'fromthe followingdescription taken in cony junction with the accompanying 1 drawings wherein:

Fig. nl isa perspective of a tobacco hogshead illustrating one application ofthe present invention;

Fig. 2, an exploded perspective of a tobacco hogshead opened for inspection of-its contents;

Fig. -3, a perspective of one of the sections which is adapted to be connected toa similar section to form lthe side wall of the hogshead;

Fig, 4 is a plan view of the hogshead with the top and bottom removed;` Y I Fig. 5, a perspective of one of the laminated staves with the liner or head retaining segment attached;

Fig. 6` a-'perspective of oneof the two-part hoops or Fig. 7, a fragmentary perspective of a conventional the slight space between themv may befforexample'approximately 151, each half section will be approxir`1`1vatev ly l/2V.' Consequently, it fis desirable, in order to reduce the length ofthe hoops or bands and the size of the package, `to cut thebands in. half and to make Vtherside i wall section in two. parts which can -be-united to, form.l

the side wall of thehogshead.

With continued `reference tof thedrawings, the hogs-` d, headlof the present-invention comprises astave 10 'of plywood composed of. multiple plies, for example` three, f

ofequal thickness and the total thickness of the three being suicient to. provide theV necessary strength inthe stave. AThe plies or laminaeof thestave'maybe any de-f sired` material havingY the vnecessary strength and @tough-V portion c osts.

.Each stave is providedjadjacent opposite ends-jon 'the'kv v same side with pairof liners 14, having beveled/ends 15, such liners preferably being substantially` square-iny cross-section'to provide a relatively wide .supporting area 1 for the'circularedge 16'of the headV 17-cornposed'of tongue and groove boards 18 and reinforcingrbattensw19, v connected together by` fastenersY 20. Due to the breadth'.

2,982,435" Patented May 2 1961 y fr# l l set side of the hogshead from the connection ofFig.`-

form t the The stave and size of the relatively square liners, they provide Athe necessary support and reinforcement for the end of the stave when the weight of a lhogshead rests onsuch end, as, for example, when the hogshead is up-ended or turned on its side, racked or stacked. The tapered o1' beveled ends 15 of the liners intimately engage each other when the hogshead is completely produced and form substantially a circle, the contacting ends of the liners abutting and mutually supporting each other and consequently adding strength to the hogshead.

For convenience in packing,v shipping and handling, the heads of the hogsheads are made separately from the side wall units composed of staves with each unit being produced in two similar sections and including for-example, thirteen staves slightly less than 6" wide and such staves held in edge to edge relation by means of half hoops or bands 21 and 22. The staves and half hoops or bands are fastened together by nails 23 `or other fastening elements and the unit thus produced can be placed flat on a surface or with other units. For use, two of such units can be connected together to provide the circular wall of the hogshead. The hoops 21 are of a width to overlie the edges of the heads and are Wider than the hoops 22.

The half hoops or bands are of a length so that they may be fastened together at one side of the barrel by a connector 24 in the form of a conventional fastener employed for connecting the ends `of a strap ordinarily placed around a carton to hold the same closed. At the opposite end each of the half hoops or bands is bent reversely upon itself to provide a loop 25, the reversely bent portion of the band being fastened in place by a weld or other fastener 26.

The front of the loop also is provided with a cut 27 so that when two of such loops 25 are in position a U- shaped connector 28 can be inserted, and when struck with sufficient force by a hammer it will cause the cuts 27 in each of the loops to open and the central portion of the connector to substantially imbed itself between the sides of the cut. Thereafter the upper portion 29 of the loop beside the cut 27 can be struck with a hammer and bent over to retain the U-shaped connector in place.

In the production of the hogshead a. pair of units composed of staves and half hoops or bands 21 and 22 fastened together by nails 23, have their loopless ends fastened together by connectors 24 and their loop ends joined by U-shaped connectors 28. This side wall structure composed of the two units is placed upon the head 17 and the hogshead is then filled with tobacco which is compressed, and thereafter the remaining head is applied. If desired, in order tosupply this second or upper head the connector 28 may be removed from the upper continuous loops so that the top of the hogshead can be spread slightly and the slats of the head can berworked into place by the use of a relatively flat lever, such as the conventional tire iron, not shown.

When it is desired to inspect and sample the tobacco within the hogshead, the connectors 28 may be readily knocked out or removed, similarly to the removal of bolts or pintles in the hinges of a door, the hogshead first having been stood on one end and the tobacco having formed an adhering mass or cake willrbe left resting upon the lower head, therefore affording access to the tobacco all the way from the bottom to the top of the cake. After the inspection and sampling the hogshead can be reassembled by placing the units composed of the two half hoops or bands with associated staves about the tobacco and the loops brought together in a manner to receive the connectors 28. Thereafter the upper head of the hogshead may be applied.

In order to make it possible for the workmen to apply sufficient pressure to the loops to bring them close together so that the connector 28 can be inserted, a pair of crossed levers 30 connected by a pivot 31 may be applied, the end of such levers being provided with parallel pins 32. By the use of the device the pins may be inserted in the loops 25 and the longer handles forced toward each other to bring together the opposite ends of the same to enable the connector to be inserted. In order to hold the parallel pins with the loops in contiguous relation, a ratchet type latch 33 may be attached to one of the levers and allowed to extend over and engage the arm 34 of the other.

A plurality of units may be placed in a stack as illustrated in Fig. 11 with the liners offset and such units, either packaged or not, may be shipped or handled with relative ease and whenever it is desired to construct a hogshead two of such units can be combined and their similar edges joined in the manner previously described.

'From the foregoing it will be apparent that a hogshead is provided of lighter weight, of simplest and most inexpensive character, of stronger construction, the parts of which can be readily produced packaged and transported and from which the hogshead may quickly and easily be erected in a minimum of time with a minimum of effort and without the use of special tools or equipment or skilled labor, and can be opened for inspection and sampling and reclosed and resealed without damage to the contents, thereby simplifying the handling of tobacco, saving transportation costs, as well as permitting reuse of the hogshead. t

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the accompanying claim.

What is claimed is:

A tobacco hogshead comprising duplicate units each including relatively thin laminated staves composed of inexpensive laminae and half hoops securing the staves of each group in edge-to-edge relation in a manner to permit the disposition of each unit in a single plane facilitating the stacking packaging and handling thereof, two of such units being adapted to have similar ends of the half hoops connected and with the separate connections at one side of the hogshead separable for inspection and sampling of the contents of the hogshead but capable of being readily reconnected by the application of force to the adjacent ends thereof to draw them near to each other to be held by a connector, the ends of said half hoops which provide the separable connection having loops, a removable U-shaped connector for securing said loops near each other so that when said connector is removed the connector ends of said half hoops will separate at one side of the hogshead when it is desired to permit inspection and after said inspection the hoops can be drawn together and said connector reapplied, each of said loops being split at one edge, so that leg portions of said U-shaped connector may be driven into said loops to spread the material of the loops at said splits, the material of said loops being deformable at said splits to grippingly retain the legs of said connector in place.

ReferencesCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 153,035 Baldwin July 14, 1874 .243,604 Olmsted June 28, 1881 307,971 Miller Nov. 1l, 1884 312,475 Knapp jFeb. 17, 1885 876,900 Edwards` Ian. 14, 1908 1,480,718 Fowler Jan. 15, 1924 1,704,787 Clarkson Mar. l2, 1929 1,839,111 McGary Dec. 29, 1931 1,892,153 Kernodle Dec. 27, 1932 2,147,952 Raymond Feb. 21, 1939 2,280,761 McConnell Apr. 21, 1942 2,418,868 Cole Apr. l5, 1947 '2,457,702 McGary e Dec. 28, 1948 2,514,829 Barkley July 11, 1950 

